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Israel killed a apical Hezbollah commandant connected Wednesday (April 1, 2026), 2 sources told AFP, successful a Beirut onslaught that Lebanon’s Health Ministry said killed 7 people.
A Lebanese information root and a Hezbollah root told AFP that the commander, Youssef Hashem, had been liable for the group’s subject affairs successful Iraq and was successful a gathering wrong a structure erstwhile Israel struck.
Israel’s subject said Hashem was Hezbollah’s commandant for its southbound Lebanon front.
Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East warfare successful aboriginal March erstwhile the Tehran-backed Hezbollah launched rockets towards Israel to avenge a U.S.-Israeli onslaught that killed Iran’s ultimate person Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Israel has responded with monolithic strikes crossed Lebanon and a crushed offensive.
A root adjacent to Hezbollah said Hashem is “the highest-ranking authoritative to beryllium targeted since the commencement of the war”.
Another Hezbollah member, Mohammad Baqir al-Nabulsi, was besides killed successful the onslaught connected the Beirut country of Jnah, the radical said.
‘Sleeping successful the open’
Several ample blasts were heard crossed the metropolis connected Wednesday (April 1, 2026) and a file of fume was seen rising from Jnah, which is location to flat buildings, cafes and shops.
Hassan Jalwan, who lives nearby, told AFP he heard “big explosions” overnight.
“Nobody knows what’s happening,” helium said, adding that “displaced radical person been sleeping successful the open” crossed the area.
Lebanese authorities accidental the warfare has forced much than 1 cardinal radical from their homes.
An earlier onslaught connected a car successful Khaldeh, conscionable southbound of the capital, precocious connected Tuesday (March 31, 2026) killed 2 much radical and wounded three, the wellness ministry said.
An AFP analogous determination saw a charred conveyance and paramedics taking a wounded idiosyncratic distant connected a stretcher.
Lebanese authorities media besides reported a onslaught aboriginal connected Wednesday (April 1, 2026) connected the Hadath territory adjacent Beirut’s confederate suburbs, which has mostly emptied of residents pursuing repeated Israeli strikes.
State media said Israeli artillery and airstrikes besides deed Lebanon’s southbound and east.
Army repositions
In the southbound adjacent the border, Israel has said it intends to reoccupy a swathe of Lebanon to make what officials person called a buffer portion to propulsion backmost Hezbollah. Israel already occupied confederate Lebanon for astir 2 decades until 2000.
Defence Minister Israel Katz said connected Tuesday (March 31) that “all the houses successful the villages adjacent to the borderline successful Lebanon volition beryllium demolished”.
Mr. Katz’s Lebanese counterpart Michel Menassa decried those plans, portion Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney denounced what helium called an “illegal invasion”.
The Lebanese service announced connected Wednesday (April 1) “a repositioning and redeployment operation” successful the southbound “as a effect of the escalation of the Israeli aggression”.
A Lebanese subject root told AFP that the service had withdrawn from immoderate confederate towns but remained successful others.
“Where determination is an Israeli incursion oregon advance, we evacuate,” the root said. “Because... determination is simply a anticipation of a nonstop targeting of the Lebanese army... and adjacent if determination is nary nonstop targeting, determination is simply a hazard the service could beryllium encircled,” the root added.
The root said the Israelis had precocious up to 10 km successful immoderate places.
Hezbollah aboriginal connected Wednesday (April 1) claimed cross-border attacks against Israel and said its fighters were engaged successful “fierce clashes” with soldiers successful the Lebanese municipality of Shamaa, astir 5 kilometres (three miles) from the border. It besides said it was down rocket occurrence targeting a radical of Israeli soldiers successful different area.
Late connected Tuesday nighttime (March 31), aerial raid sirens sounded crossed bluish Israel’s Galilee region, according to the Israeli military’s Home Front Command, hours aft what Israeli media said was a barrage of much than 40 rockets fired by Hezbollah.
Israel’s subject has reported respective casualties among its ranks successful caller days successful southbound Lebanon.
Lebanese authorities accidental the warfare has truthful acold killed much than 1,300 people.
